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Category Archives: Makeup

Take a look at the swatches of these super-fab colours I found at the pharmacy on clearance (very rarely, if ever, will I pay for cosmetics at full-price).

I paid $4.96 for each of these beautiful colours. The teal colour is called Electric Blue. Two coats is all I needed to make this colour look its best. I’m a major sucker for anything blue, green, or especially teal. Electric Blue is a gentle but stand out-ish cream-based colour, and for myself it is a colour I’d wear daily (because I’m a teal fanatic, I must have EVERY variation of teal on the market). The second colour is a gorgeous rich sapphire blue, called Twilight, that has speckles of holographic glitter in it. This is definitely a fancy and celebrational colour, that you’d wear when you’re feeling extra glitzy, or going somewhere special.

Here is a second pic, that shows off the glitter in the darker blue better.

Ignoring my horribly dry and Canadian-winter-abused cuticles, you can see the glitter and both colours are real pretty. The blue does need to be shaken up every time I apply a new coat, but I find that is a good habit to get into when using any nail lacquer.

I have typically only used Orly nail lacquer, but I have seen several Orly “subsidiary” brands, if you will. Definitely worth checking these out! I found them at Rexall for under $5, but I don’t think they are all that expensive at full price.

This entry is somewhat of an update to my other posts about lip balms, glosses, stains, and all that delicious stuff. Click here, and here to check them out!

Since that post, I’ve tried several lip balms, and the majority of them have not resulted in the gross post-surgery lips, as I tend to call them. Read on to find out what I’ve used, love, and other products I want to try!

While their products are catered moreso to guys, Jack Black makes a fabulous line of skin care products, and they also make lip balms. These give your lips somewhat of a glossy sheen, and the different varieties are very tasty combinations! I have tried two of their lip balms. Vanilla Lavender, and Grapefruit Ginger. Both of these were great, but I preferred the Vanilla Lavender. A great plus about these balms: most of them are gluten-free and fragrance-free! Other intriguing flavours include Lemon & Chamomile, and Black Tea & Blackberry. All their balms have SPF 25, and my lips absolutely adored them. They sell for $7.50 a piece on Jack Black’s website, or you can purchase a kit, such as their cleverly-named Balm Squad, for $25 (which includes FOUR of these goodies). Their website also displays the ingredients for each of the different lip balms.

I will definitely consider purchasing these again! Love, love, love!

For those who follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me pimping out Desert Essence’s lip balms. I first discovered their Tea Tree Oil Therapeutic Lip Balm, and was so excited to find a more affordable lip balm that agreed with my lips. They say this is good for cold sores and cracked lips. I can’t comment on the cold sores ( tea tree oil is antibacterial and healing, so that makes sense), but it definitely kept my lips moisturized and in a happy, healthy state. The second lip balm from Desert Essence that I’ve tried and loved (even more than the tea tree oil), was the Lip Rescue Moisturizing with Jojoba Oil. The smell is so refreshingly subtle, and it kept my lips so nice and moisturized. My boyfriend didn’t enjoy the tea tree oil lip balm, because it had a weird taste whenever he kissed me. And the jojoba lip balm was much more mild. It really comes down to personal preference with these products! I find tea tree oil very intense, so I like to switch it up between these two.

Vitacost had a sale on Desert Essence products, so last night I picked up FIVE of Desert Essence’s Lip Rescue Ultra Hydrating with Shea Butter lip balms, which I have not tried yet! Two for myself, and THREE for my boyfriend. They were a whopping $1.18 a piece – which totally blew my mind.

Desert Essence is a brand that has never let me down. I also see they sell lip tints (Vanilla Chai, anyone!?), if you’re looking for something with colour (I much prefer a nude lip on me) for $5.99 each! I can’t comment on whether they would work well on sensitive lips, but I’d say it’s worth a try!

There you have it – these are the winning lip products that I consider to be my favourites. There are others, however, that I feel deserve some level of honourable mention:

I did a review on the products from this awesome company. You can check that out here. These products are vegan, cruelty-free, and their assortment of flavours are to die for! Their collections include inspirations of Soda Pop, Fall, Tea, and – HOLY SHIT – a new holiday Gingerbread lip balm! At $3.49 a piece, they are quite wallet-friendly. Their collections expanded to include lip tints they call HibisKiss, which I have never tried, but would love to hear what people have to say about them.

I’ve yet to try this, but I have heard people rave about how well it keeps lips moisturized and healthy in the most intense conditions. It is gluten-free, and the ingredients include goodies like rosemary leaf oil, castor seed oil, and shea butter.

While it is relatively expensive (at $14 CAD per tube), the tube is significantly larger than most lip balm sizes (I’d say it is about double). The lavender in this balm soothes the lips like none other, and it is this lip balm that got my lips healed and back to fabulous after my first horrible reaction in early 2011.

I hope this has helped all of you out there with sensitive lips. You definitely don’t have to be limited to using your mother’s vaseline – there are plenty of options!

I often find myself wanting to put makeup on people – so these are a few pics from two Saturdays ago, when I dolled up my darling friend Sarah, who was so much fun to work with; I can’t wait to make her look like a high-class hooker again sometime!

We are a couple of goofs, and I was doing everything possible to make her laugh during photo-taking.

Don’t mind the eyebrows – I feel like I must be part Lebanese, but damn I do my best to keep them under control. My new vanity is really helping to make me even more makeup-crazy! I had so much fun doing this look. And now all I can think of are ways to make it look even better. Sigma brushes are the best thing that has ever happened to my makeup collection. Their vegan Mrs Bunny Kit rocks my world!

Picked up these two lovely jumbo eye pencils from NYX yesterday! They are only $5.99, but were 20% off! I’m heading out to a roller derby game this evening, and a lady’s got to look her best! I must say, these pencils are extremely creamy and soft going on. The two colours I got were Dark Brown and Purple.

A Facebook friend informed me that NYX products are gluten-free. I’ve confirmed this with a Google search; I found a blogger who contacted them regarding this manner, and posted NYX’s response. How fabulous is that?! To have a brand that is cruelty-free, and gluten-free! On top of this, I’ve enjoyed their products for quite some time. I’ve yet to try their nail polish – but it won’t be long before I do.

Mayhaps I will take some photos of the look I do for this evening and show you all! I love having a beauty blog – the perfect excuse to look ridiculously glamourous at any given time.

It would be such a great thing if I was able to indulge in my beauty fetish on a 24/7 basis; putting most of my energy into writing about all the fun things that tickle my fancy, and that I’m sure tickle yours as well! Thank you to those who keep reading, and commenting! It inspires me to keep going.

Onto what you’ve been waiting for!

left to right: Sew Psyched, Smokin’ Hot, No More Film, E-nuf is E-nuf, and Turquoise & Caicos

I will be giving you a brief review of each of these Essie colours. As I had mentioned previously, I’ll be reviewing each product based on ease of application, how many coats required for best colour, how true the colour in the bottle is to the applied colour, longevity of the polishes, and drying time!

Sew Psyched #704: Two coats is all you need of this polish for maximum colour. Essie’s site calls this colour a “cashmere-soft sage pewter”. I would never be able to come up with such an elaborate description, myself, but now that I think of it – that is so accurate! In simpler terms, I’d describe it as a dull green with grey tint. It applies very easily, and the consistency is not too thin or too thick. This colour lasted for 3 days on my nails without chipping, and I pick at my nails like nothing else! Love it! I will definitely buy this colour again. This is my most used Essie colour.

Smokin’ Hot # 700: This colour is thinner in consistency than Sew Psyched, though two coats is still sufficient to achieve the best look. It is a delightful rich and creamy grey-ish brown. It lasted for about 4 days on my nails. This is another neutral that goes well with everything, but is so unique that it never fails to excite me each time I put it on. Win!

No More Film # 911: This colour hails from Essie’s recent Resort 2012 Collection! I absolutely adore this intensely vivid creamy dark purple. The consistency is the same as the previous, although it is much more pigmented; with one layer, I was able to completely cover my nails. It felt awkward only using one coat, so I used two for safe measure. It lasted only 1 1/2 days before chipping, but I’m willing to give it many more chances before I decide whether I’ll buy it again or more.

E-nuf is E-nuf # 576: Some may call it a deep orange, but I’d say it’s a beautifully bright coral colour. This polish burns so brightly (and by that I mean it’s intensely bright; I do not set my nail polish on fire), but it’s such a charismatic colour that I can’t help but keep going back to it. Two coats are all you need, though it is equally pigmented as No More Film. I had this colour on my nails for 4 days before it chipped. Consistency is similar to the others; it is very easy to apply. Will re-purchase!

Turquoise & Caicos #752: Teal is my absolutely favourite colour, and that includes (for the most part), any variation of aqua, or green-ish blue. I had eyed this polish for months at the store until I decided to buy it (ridiculous; I know!). I wish I could say this colour blew me away, but it didn’t. The problem was that it took at least 3 coats for the colour to become opaque and accurate to the colour in the bottle. And then took longer to try, hence more likely to screw up. It did stay on my nails, without chipping, for about 4 days. I still enjoy using it because it is such a refreshing and summery minty ocean colour that reminds me of days on the beach. I will probably not buy it again; I am still on the lookout for a colour like this that is more pigmented.

All of these Essie nail lacquers dried quickly (a couple of minutes) and evenly.

Love, love, love!

Now, if only I had a better camera (or iPhone 4s) to capture these colours better!

It’s been about 36 hours since I’ve applied the Essie colours, and I will be reviewing them all based on ease of application, how many coats required for best colour, how true the colour in the bottle is to the applied colour, longevity of the polishes, and drying time!

Please ignore the sad state of my fingers; I am a hang-nail biter, and it gets worse when I am stressed, or studying hard.

Many at-home manicures and use of essential oils has helped with the quality of my nails, though. I make a habit of soaking them in either olive oil or coconut oil at least once a week.

From left to right: Essie’s Sew Psyched, Smokin’ Hot, & No More Film

Stay-tuned for colour swatches, and the final verdict on these amazing colours from Essie! What are your favourite Essie colours, and why?